Why I’d buy the iOO again

I bought my iOO in July 2020, the white-framed iOO-Blanc, and spent that afternoon building it on the floor and taking photos as I went. By the end of it, the chair was pulled up to my wooden desk under two monitors.

The mesh and the adjustments are why I’d call it a great alternative to the Herman Miller Aeron. It’s extremely comfortable, and it doesn’t make my butt hurt.

Six years on, it’s still going strong, and I still adjust the arms almost every day depending on what I’m doing.

Where did the Eurotech iOO go?

It’s sold today as the Ergohuman XTREME, and it’s the same chair. You’ll find it in the Ergohuman store under Raynor, the company that owns Eurotech.

So if you’re shopping for an iOO, look for the XTREME. Its listing has the same specs, and BTOD’s old iOO page even sends you straight there.

What should you check when you build it?

The back bolt. A single bolt holds the backrest to the seat, so tighten it well when you build the chair and give it another turn a month later.

The rest is straightforward. It comes in twenty pieces with an Allen key in the box, and mine went together in an afternoon.

That one bolt takes your weight every time you lean back, and I’d check it on any chair that hangs its back on a single bolt. It’s a quick turn with the Allen key, and then you can stop thinking about it.

How does the iOO adjust to you?

You can set almost everything to fit you: the seat, the lower-back support and the arms.

The seat slides forward and back. If you’ve got long legs, slide it out so your thighs are supported, and if you’re shorter, slide it in so the front edge doesn’t press behind your knees.

When you lean back, the seat tips back with you, and you can set how hard you have to push or lock it upright. One lever handles the height, the seat slide and the tilt lock, so you’re not hunting for controls under the seat.

Plus, the lower-back support moves to where your back wants it, and you can set how firmly it presses. The arms adjust in several directions, including in and out, so you can bring them right to your elbows for whatever you’re doing at the desk.

The seat doesn’t go low, though. It bottoms out at 20 inches, so if you need a lower seat to get your feet flat on the floor, this one will feel too tall.

It’s also a heavy chair at 69 lb, so building it in the room where it’ll live saves your back a trip down the hall.

What does the warranty cover?

Lifetime on the parts, and five years on the upholstery and foam.

It’s written for a normal 40-hour work week and a sitter up to 275 lb, and you’ll need proof of purchase, so hang on to the receipt.

The copy I’d trust is the one on Eurotech’s own site. Dealers retype it on their pages, and theirs don’t all match (there’s more on that in the fine print at the bottom).

Where should you buy it?

OfficeChairsUSA, for the XTREME high back with the headrest. It has that version in stock for less than BTOD.

The mid back costs a little less, and it skips the headrest. I’d spend the little extra on the high back and have the headrest from day one.

What does it look like coming out of the box?

These are the photos I took that day in July 2020. The label on the box reads iOO-Blanc, fauteuil resille multifonction dossier moyen, the French description of the white-framed mid-back mesh version.

It took ninety minutes from sealed box to a chair at the desk, and a fair slice of that was me taking photos.

It shows up in parts. The five-star base, the casters, the gas cylinder, both armrests, the seat and the back are packed separately, and the headrest comes bagged with its own hardware.

(Those are my arms in the assembly shots, by the way.)

What are the common problems with the iOO?

Mine has held up since 2020. Just keep an eye on the back bolt.

It’s the only bolt holding the back on, so I’d give it that second turn a month in.

Who should buy the iOO?

If you’re still comparing, I also own a Eurotech Elevate. For me, the difference is the price. The Elevate costs less, it’s worth it for the money, and it looks good too.

Want something else to look at? Eurotech’s Vera is another mesh-back chair, and if you’d like to sit on Tempur-Pedic’s foam, the TP9000 is the one I’d check out.

The fine print

Dealer copies of the warranty drift. One dealer prints it with 250 lb in place of 275, under another brand’s heading, another adds an armrest-pad exclusion, and a third lists the XTREME at 300 lb. The copy on Eurotech’s site is the one that counts.

No BIFMA listing. BIFMA sets the US standards for office chairs, and Eurotech has no products in the BIFMA Compliant register, so there’s no independent test result to check this chair against.

One bolt holds the back. Eurotech’s parts list shows one bolt for the backrest, and the Ergohuman sister chair’s sheet shows two. In 2016 the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled a different chair from the same importer because its seat could detach.

GREENGUARD is claimed for the whole catalog. Eurotech says everything it makes is GREENGUARD certified for low chemical emissions, but I couldn’t find a certificate for this chair. Some dealers call it GREENGUARD Gold, which Eurotech doesn’t claim.

Questions

Read how I check numbers.